Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(16)

When he was back in the car, and after they had their seat belts fastened and he’d pulled away from the curb, she turned to him. “I did tell you I’m a champion bowler.” Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks red from the freezing air outside.

“A champion bowler?” Cole glanced at her. The teasing between them was more fun than anything ahead. “Impressive.”

“Yep.” She giggled. “I come from a long line of winners. Bowling is our game. Always has been.”

“Really.” He laughed. “Can’t wait to see this.”

When they arrived at the bowling alley, they paid for one game and they picked out shoes. She held up her pair. “I used to model these. Seriously.”

She was still teasing, keeping things light. But for Cole every detail of this day would stay with him forever. He’d barely met her, but he definitely knew that much. They got set up on a lane and she sat across from him. No one ever looked cuter in bowling shoes.

Maybe she actually did model them. He grinned at her. “You go first.”

“No, haven’t you heard?” She raised her brow and lowered her chin, flirting with him again. “The advantage goes to the person who starts the game.”

“Okay.” Cole wasn’t much of a flirt. But he had no trouble playing along now. “Right. So you go first. Champions like you need all the help they can get.”

She stood and did a grand-style bow. “I defer to you, my kind sir.” Her words came in what must’ve been her best British accent. “It’s you who needs all the help this time.”

Cole shook his head. He’d never had this much fun with any girl, ever. He looked for the right ball and tried to focus. A quick study of the pins and a few fast steps and he released the ball. Just before it hit, Cole shouted, “Strike!”

As if on cue, the ball made contact and all ten pins fell to the ground.

“Hmmm.” Elise nodded. Her eyes danced as she stifled another giggle. “Impressive. You must be a champion yourself!”

The connection between them made Cole feel like he was flying. Like his ugly bowling shoes weren’t quite touching the ground. “Maybe it’s being in the company of someone as professional as yourself, Elise.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.” Then she stood and found a pink bowling ball. A few seconds to steady herself and she flew toward the lane. The ball released too quickly and shot straight for the gutter. As soon as it did, she turned to Cole, head high, and gave a casual shrug. “See! No one hits the gutters like me!”

“Wait.” Cole came to her. This whole thing was the most fun ruse, and Cole had never enjoyed playing along more than he did now. “You mean you’re not a champion? I’m devastated, Elise. I totally believed you.”

She tilted her head back and laughed and then as impulsively as she had started the game, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Nothing too long. Just a quick act of friendship that made Cole’s head spin.

By the end of the game, she hadn’t racked up fifty points and again she teased him on the way to the car. “Most champions let their opponents win. At least the first time.”

Snow was falling and the air was bitter cold. But that didn’t touch the warmth in Cole’s heart. And as he dropped her off at home, he could think about only one thing.

How soon he could see her again.

? ? ?

THE AFTERNOON BOWLING game with Cole was still the happiest moment of the past week. But now Elise needed to focus her attention on the task ahead. The volunteer work she was doing at Bloomington Hospital. She checked in and headed to the fourth floor.

Elise found the bathroom and stared in the mirror. Her volunteer uniform was maybe the ugliest thing Elise had ever seen. She changed into the pale striped scrubs and tucked her things into a locker. Then she looked at herself again.

ELISE WALKER, her plastic name tag read. Who would’ve thought?

Last year she went from class good girl to one of the wildest kids at school. And now she was volunteering here, making rounds and talking to patients with organ failure. Being nice to people who didn’t have long to live.

This was her fourth shift on the job.

Elise squinted at her reflection. Something was different in her eyes. More light. Whatever it was, she felt good to come here three times a week and help. Besides, being here was something she had to do if she wanted to get accepted to NYU.

By now she had the application memorized. She had the grades—even from last year, when she acted crazy with Randy. And she had extracurricular involvement from the two years she sang in her old school’s choir. But she still needed community service, and now she had it for one reason.

Cole Blake.

The cute guy she couldn’t stop thinking about. The one she laughed with and studied with and, yes, even pretended to be a champion bowler with. She smiled. Cole was there in her thoughts, always. She’d been having lunch at school with Cole whenever he wasn’t with his baseball friends. And a few times Cole had picked her up and taken her out—bowling or for ice cream. When he didn’t have practice. Not a date, exactly. They each paid for their own food. But still it was fun being with him.

Tall and strong and lanky. Blond hair that swept over his forehead. Cole was the most incredible boy she’d ever met. Elise only hoped he couldn’t see how he took her breath away. He mustn’t see. Elise wouldn’t let herself have feelings for Cole. Because this semester wasn’t about friends or boys or falling in love. It was about just one thing: